The beautiful Grand Forge de Buffon sits 23km north of Semur-en-Auxois on the pastoral banks of the Brenne Canal. One of the first fully integrated factories, it was built in 1778 by Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Count of Buffon and a mathematician and naturalist. The forge's existing buildings include a blast furnace that was used for casting molten metals and a supply channel with paddlewheel. Take the D980 north from Semur-en-Auxois, then the D905, following signs for the village of Buffon.
Grand Forge du Buffon
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.98 MILES
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20.84 MILES
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The Italian Renaissance makes a cameo appearance at this imposing château, built in the 1540s by celebrated Italian architect Serlio. The richly painted…
28.62 MILES
Le Château de Bazoches sits magnificently on a hillside with views to Vézelay, 12km to the north. Built in the 13th century and visited by royalty…
12.47 MILES
This sensational interactive museum and historic theme park is well worth the drive from Dijon (67km) or Semur-en-Auxois (16km). This was the historic…
19.56 MILES
This charity hospital, founded in 1293 by Marguerite de Bourgogne (wife of Charles d’Anjou), is most famous for its vast, barrel-vaulted patients' hall…
Nearby attractions
5.98 MILES
Founded in 1118 and enshrined as a Unesco World Heritage site, Fontenay Abbey offers a fascinating glimpse of the austere, serene surroundings in which…
9.8 MILES
The Italian Renaissance makes a cameo appearance at this imposing château, built in the 1540s by celebrated Italian architect Serlio. The richly painted…
11.45 MILES
A stained-glass window (1927) and a plaque commemorating American soldiers who fell in France in WWI are inside this twin-towered, Gothic collegiate…
12.47 MILES
This sensational interactive museum and historic theme park is well worth the drive from Dijon (67km) or Semur-en-Auxois (16km). This was the historic…
16.07 MILES
Dominating the northern edge of the tranquil riverside village of Tanlay, the elegant French Renaissance-style Château de Tanlay is surrounded by a wide…
16.8 MILES
The only château in France built on a pentagonal plan, and buttressed by five towers, the Renaissance-era Château de Maulnes, 24km east of Tonnerre, is a…
19.56 MILES
This charity hospital, founded in 1293 by Marguerite de Bourgogne (wife of Charles d’Anjou), is most famous for its vast, barrel-vaulted patients' hall…
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Tonnerre's newest attraction is this house-museum, once home to the colourful Chevalier d'Éon, a gender-bending 18th-century diplomat and spy. The…
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- path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
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